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Tuesday 12 January 2010

Raid Boss Puzzles

Last week I asked, "Why do you raid?" and I mentioned why I raid. I also asked the question of my guild mates. The answers followed a general theme, following the lore of the game, working with a group of friends, downing bosses, getting cool achievements. There was one answer which stood out to me and it was something I had not thought about before.

One of my guildies said "I like puzzles. Each raid boss is a puzzle and so my primary reason for raiding is to solve the puzzle." He went on to say that the fact that to solve the puzzle he has to work with 9 other people brings in "interesting social dynamics, that with the right combination of people, can be very rewarding." For me this is a very fresh look at why people raid and one which could provide some great insight into why my own raid group is not progressing as fast as I would like.

I'm now thinking about how I can solve these puzzles and which ones I have enjoyed most so far. Apart from the astounding geekgasm I had when we dropped the evil Emporer Twins, I think my most enjoyable win was dropping Gluth. We'd wiped twice and I was "kiting" the zombies. Except I wasn't. I was just holding aggro and standing there getting hit. When we went over the strat again, it clicked. I'd been so focussed on keeping them from Gluth I'd forgotten to move! As I wandered round the back of the room, spamming DnD, and busting all my tank spec cooldowns, I wasn't even watching Gluth fade to a big dopey dead doggie. Our raid healer who was with me and I were both caught by surprise when the shouts went out on TS. OMG! He's down! That little penny dropping in my head made all the difference on that fight. That's how puzzles work. One moment of inspiration can solve it in a flash.

Would love to know who your favourite "puzzles" have been, do leave me a comment.

Till next time,

Deme the Puzzler

4 comments:

  1. The Twins were probably the most challenging of the puzzles. I haven't mastered the Safety Dance yet (what? I freely admit my failings as a raider) and have yet to see Gulth.

    Faction Champs might be my favorite of the puzzles to solve. That's probably no surprise, though.

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  2. My favorites in no particular order:
    - Instructor Razuvius, Naxx25
    - Four Horsemen, Naxx25
    - Onyxia
    - Most bosses in Ulduar
    - Northrend Beasts, TOC
    - Faction Champions, TOC
    - Lady Deathwhisper, ICC

    For the sole reason that they are tricky. They either have an interesting, cooperative mechanic to them or they require my absolute focus. Some I have downed a dozen times, but I never pretend I can slack it.

    Also, I love tanking ads as much as I hate it. I love it because I hate it. Because it demands I do my utter best and a bit better.

    I'd like to speak out for Vanilla and BC bosses, but I never experienced them on their respective level.

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  3. @antikris77 Not yet you haven't :) But that's another blog post.

    @cynwise I think it's hard to excel at both PvP and PvE, or in my case either :P

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  4. Best Puzzle EVER!

    Mimiron!

    Followed closely by Anubarak and Yogg Saron

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